Hardware Planning to buy a new PC

[MushGuy]

OK, so I have enough money to buy a new PC, and I found this one on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221150907899

Question, do you think it's good for Dolphin emulator? I also plan to get it with Windows 8, and I also want it to be future-proof. Your opinions?

 

[ilman]

It will work well with dolphin, but why not try to build your own PC?
It'll be much cheaper if you do so.
P.S. I think that the PC you offered hasn't got a very good graphics card.

 

[MushGuy]

Thanks, but I prefer to buy a prebuilt one. Any other recommendations that I can buy from eBay?

 

[geishroy]

that power supply and video card are junk, you should look for something different or else you'd have to upgrade both to run anything.
is ebay your only option to buy things from?

 

[Originality]

Actually the power supply is "adequate". It can power everything except high end graphics cards. How reliable it is however... And it is probably matched with a crappy motherboard...

It's a HP machine. That kinda says it all.

 

[Rydian]

It'd be fine for emulation and stuff, but it's not really future-proof for gaming. The video card is a little weak (though still acceptable for many things) and you'd need to replace the PSU when upgrading to a higher-end card.

 

[MushGuy]

OK, so what can you recommend me to buy from eBay, or Newegg, or whatever that can be future-proof and not above $1000? Or better yet, what are the best parts that you can recommend me, not only for gaming, but also for multimedia work, but still at $1000?

Edit: So I found this page, and this PC that I found is within my budget. Do you think it's good enough for gaming and Wii emulation?

 

[marcus134]

Thanks, but I prefer to buy a prebuilt one. Any other recommendations that I can buy from eBay?

prebuilt are bad for gaming and when they come close to something potent, their price are just ridiculously high.
If you don't want to build one yourself just go to a computer parts boutique and ask them to assemble one for you. There are plenty of small sop like those in most cities waiting for you to come in and ask them what kind of configuration they'd be ready to sell you for a 1K$ for your needs.

If you absolutely want to do it online, you can try i buy power.

this PC that I found is within my budget. Do you think it's good enough for gaming and Wii emulation?

this comp is exactly the kind of shit I loath when I think about prebuilt, they just took cheap parts that let them display huge number and lots of empty talk, regardless of their actual performances. it's a bad bang for the buck.

here's a break-down of what you should be looking:
CPU: intel i5-35x0
- usually people goes for the k variant for overclocking, but since you don't look like somebody who would, you can always save a few buck there.
- for gaming and emulation, you don't need more than 4 cores, actually 90% of the time you don't even need more than 2, games and emulation get a bigger benefit from speed rather than the amount of cores
RAM: 8gb (2x4gb)
- cause it's cheap
MOBO: Z77 based (asus or gigabyte - and others)
- H77 based ones should be good too if you want to save a bit of money there
GPU: anything between 170$ and 240$ should give you a good run for your money considering your budget
PSU: 500w+ (branded)
- power consumption depend on the component chosen
Drives
-go with a 1TB western digital black. SSD's are affordable in your price range but it depends on how you want to balance your build, also keep in mind that if you want a ssd as primary drive, you'll need a storage drive
- dvd-rw or blu-ray, your choice again
Case: antec, nzxt, corsair are mostly safe bet, other manufacturer can have good value too in your price range

 

[Rydian]

You don't want something with dual video cards since there's some downsides, so I wouldn't recommend the machine you linked.

Acceptable..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227408

Better...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227410

 

[Lanlan]

this PC that I found is?

Crossfirex'd 6670s? That makes me laugh
Just build your own. It's very easy, you just need to know how to match up slot shapes, we can help you with what to buy. And you'll save a ton of money this way. Plus you'll learn in the process. Learning is fun.

Edit: I really can't stress enough how bad a prebuilt PC is for the money. A $1000 one you build yourself will be sooooo much better. Please don't buy prebuilt. You're just kicking yourself in the ball if you do it. A cheap PC around $350 could do Wii emulation, if your budget is $1000, you could get some serious power if you get the right parts. And we can help with that.

 

[Rydian]

Crossfirex'd 6670s? That makes me laugh
Just build your own. It's very easy, you just need to know how to match up slot shapes, we can help you with what to buy. And you'll save a ton of money this way. Plus you'll learn in the process. Learning is fun.

Edit: I really can't stress enough how bad a prebuilt PC is for the money. A $1000 one you build yourself will be sooooo much better. Please don't buy prebuilt. You're just kicking yourself in the ball if you do it. A cheap PC around $350 could do Wii emulation, if your budget is $1000, you could get some serious power if you get the right parts. And we can help with that.

Hey now, not every prebuilt is dell. Check out a lot of the stuff you find on Newegg when searching for dedicated graphics, you might be surprised what you can find at a reasonable price with a midrange GPU in it.

 

[MushGuy]

OK, so I decided to buy parts to build a gaming PC myself. Fortunately at Newegg, they also sell DYI PC Combos even for gaming. I found these, so far:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1043157
The hard drive space, I can take care of it later (I already have an external HDD).

Alternatively, you could recommend me on your own that can go around $1000.

 

[FireGrey]

Out of those combo deals I would choose this one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1047786

 

[MushGuy]

^ Yeah, but the graphics are integrated to the motherboard... (or at least it doesn't include a dedicated graphics card)

Edit: The second link that I provided looks like a better choice, at $1100. What are your opinions on this?

 

[Rydian]

Most "kits" (that start from the case+mobo) aren't going to include a good PSU and video card.
Integrated graphics will simply be disabled when you have the actual card installed.

Look at cheaper kits to find ones that don't include all the parts and markup, then add a PSU and video card and junk yourself.

EDIT: Or look at the post below this one, that's a good list.

 

[Lanlan]

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116505 $210
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157325 $90
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561 $180
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 $40
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028 $70
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697 $50

That equals $640, add a case and Windows 7 and you're looking at about $800 for a PC that'll play anything. Upgrade the card if you want even better.

 

[MushGuy]

This combo that a computer specialist has recommended me has an arguably really good graphics card, but I wonder about everything else. As for Windows 7, I already have an installation disk. The recommendations above are good, too; but I need to make my final decision.

 

[Rydian]

Everything else looks fine from what I can tell at a glance, and it's not much more expensive than the above.

Also it's not just a disc, you'll need an unused serial to match it's type.

 

[MushGuy]

So I finally got everything, and with the help of a friend, I assembled it all, installed Windows 7, and it works like a charm! I tried playing the Sonic Generations demo, and it was awesome at full framerate. It was an awesome great purchase. Now for the next step: I'm planning to by a good LED-LCD, 1080p monitor with bulit-in speakers and an optional USB hub. Now that Cyber Monday is tomorrow, what are your best recommendations that are not above $150? I want it with HDMI and/or DisplayPort, by the way.

Edit: This seems to be a good candidate. I'm also looking for candidates at Amazon.
Edit 2: A list of candidates from Amazon.Once again, recommendations, please.
Edit 3: And a candidate from Newegg, once again. Here's a comparison with a refurbished monitor of the same brand.